You Win
by smm
Summary: When Beast Boy and Raven make a bet where he's not allowed to make anymore jokes, will Raven and the rest of the Titans actually start to miss his antics? BBR my first story
1. The Bet

Losing the Laughter  
  
I don't own any of these characters.  
  
Chapter 1 "The Bet"  
  
"Beast Boy, you could have been killed! Why can't you ever be serious for once!??" Raven shouted as the Titans filed into meeting room after a losing battle with Cinderblock. "If you hadn't been fooling around, and not watching where you were going, we would have caught him! I can't believe you!" Raven said in a rare show of emotion. Her temper was flaring, and the rest of the titans were just waiting for something to blow up.  
  
"How many times to I have to say it, Raven? I'm sorry!" Beast Boy shouted back at her. He felt bad about screwing up, but why couldn't she just let it go?  
  
"Sorry doesn't cut it." Raven responded in a callous tone, but calming slightly.  
  
"What do you want me to do? Change the past?!" Beast Boy said, allowing his smart mouth to get the best of him.  
  
"I want you to start acting your age and not like a mutant four year old!" Raven yelled, her tempter blazing again. Suddenly Starfire's favorite lamp exploded. "Look what you made me do!" Raven shrieked at Beast Boy.  
  
"What I made you do?! You did it yourself!" Beast Boy said. "Why are you blaming me for everything?!"  
  
"Because if you could just control that pathetic sense of humor, and started acting mature, we wouldn't have lost that battle!" Raven said, her anger burning hot on the surface. The titans had never seen her this angry. Starfire wanted to pick up the pieces of her lamp, but was afraid Raven would get mad at her for moving.  
  
"Pathetic sense of humor?! My jokes are great! I can't help it if you don't have a sense of humor at all!" Beast Boy replied.  
  
"You're too immature!" Raven said.  
  
"Well you're too serious!" Beast boy retorted  
  
"I bet you couldn't spend 2 weeks being serious!" Raven challenged  
  
"I bet you I could! I'll prove it; I'll go 2 weeks without making a single joke. In fact, for the next 2 weeks, I won't even laugh!" Beast Boy responded before he could stop himself.  
  
"It's a bet then." Raven answered coolly. "Only, let's raise the stakes. If I win, you're never allowed to make another joke, ever!"  
  
"And if I win, you have to go with me to see The Three Idiots Go to Egypt, and you have to laugh at all my jokes, no matter how stupid they are." He bargained.  
  
"Deal."  
  
"Fine!" He shouted  
  
"Fine!" She shouted back, as they both turned and stomped to their rooms, and slammed the doors, leaving the other Titans still standing in the meeting room, looking slightly confused. 


	2. Eavesdropping and Bad Dreams

Author's note: Sorry the first chapter was sort of slow, but I promise this chapter is more interesting.(Especially if you're a BB/R shipper)

I don't own any of these characters.

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Chapter 2 "Eavesdropping and Bad Dreams"  
  
Beast Boy was sitting in his room staring at the ceiling. 'This is so boring, how does she stand to be so serious all the time? There's nothing to do. How long has it been?' Beast Boy looked at his watch '44 hours, 23 minutes, and 18 seconds. Only 291 hours, 36 minutes, and 37 seconds left...Maybe I'll go get a snack...'  
  
In the meeting room, Starfire, Robin, and Cyborg were discussing the bet. "Who do you think will be the victor?" Starfire asked.  
  
"My money is on Raven. There is no way that BB, can last 2 whole weeks, I'm surprised he's lasted this long! He won't make it to tomorrow afternoon" Cyborg stated.  
  
"I've got to agree, there is no way that he can last that long. He might have been able to last that long if he couldn't tell a joke, but no laughing? That's just not possible." Robin said, "What do you think Star?"  
  
"I think you are both underestimating Beast Boy."  
  
"So you actually think he'll win?!" Robin asked, a little surprised, Starfire was loyal, sure, but she wasn't stupid.  
  
"No! Of course I do not think he will win, but maybe he'll last a little longer than tomorrow." Starfire said. Just outside the meeting room door, Beast Boy stood listening to his friends joke about him being too weak to be able to win the bet. He'd been on his way to the kitchen when he heard them talking. The comments the others had made had really hurt Beast Boy. It seemed they didn't respect him at all, Starfire hadn't even thought he could do it. 'I can't believe they don't think I can control myself! Well, I'll show them! I'll show all of them, I'll win this bet, and I'll prove to them I can be serious!'  
  
Meanwhile, Raven was sitting her room, trying to meditate. She'd been trying to meditate for the past half hour, and she couldn't clear her thoughts. She kept thinking back to the battle two days ago. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see Cinderblock throwing Beast Boy into a wall, and knocking him out. She kept seeing Cinderblock lifting Beast Boy up and throwing him off the rooftop like a rag doll. She couldn't get the image of Beast Boy's limp and falling body out of her head. Had she not seen him fall, had she not caught him, he would have died. When the rest of the titans saw he was hurt, they stopped pursuing Cinderblock, and ran to help. And all Beast Boy said when he woke up was "Did we win?" Oh how angry that had made her! 'Did we win?'! How was it that he could make her go crazy by just saying three words? All he had to say was three little words to make her go crazy...why was he the only one that could make her explode like that? Why was it that she couldn't control her emotions around him? Why couldn't he just leave her thoughts alone? Again the image of his falling body flickered across her mind...the thought of almost losing him made her skin crawl. Suddenly, the image changed, '_Beast Boy's body continued to fall. Raven was there, but she couldn't save him, her powers were failing her. Abruptly his body hit, and it shattered into thousands of pieces. Her body seemed to feel the same impact, and then, she felt nothing, just emptiness. He was gone, and all they could do was mourn. Days past, and then weeks, the tower became quiet. No one spoke, or played games or...laughed. They all kept to themselves, they all were lost in their own pain. Raven could only stare, she couldn't sleep, she couldn't eat, she couldn't even cry...for hours, she just stared at his old pictures...she wanted so badly to tell him...to say-'_ Raven woke up with a start. 'I must have fallen asleep...but...but it felt so real.' Raven shivered once, and tried to put the disturbing dream out of her mind.


	3. Silence and Hurt Feelings

Don't own any of the characters

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Chapter 3 "Silence and Hurt Feelings"  
  
Everyone was in the kitchen eating breakfast. Everyone was having cereal, except Beast Boy who was eating a grapefruit, well; "eating" might not be the best word. It was more like "poke it until it looked like some of it had been eaten". It'd been 2 days since he'd overheard Starfire, Robin and Cyborg making fun of him, and the words still hurt. Beast Boy wasn't the only one that wasn't really eating. In fact, the whole team was more staring at their food than eating it. The whole tower was quiet, and no one seemed like they noticed. It was like no one had any words left. Each titan was absorbed in his or her own thoughts. Raven was still a little unnerved from her dream, it'd seemed so real that she still hadn't went back to sleep since she had it. It'd been two days, and she was beginning to feel the drag. Cyborg had been training for a while, but he was feeling the need to have some fun. It was just too bad that no one seemed up to having some fun. He really didn't even have anyone that he could play video games with now that Beast Boy was being serious. Robin kept saying he wasn't in the mood to play, Starfire didn't know how to play, and he didn't want to play against the game because it wasn't much of a challenge. Starfire was also lost in deep thought. Since this silly bet had started, the tower had seemed quiet, and desolate. There was nowhere to go, and no one to do anything with. No one was telling jokes, or playing video games. No one was making up strategies, and no one wanted to watch TV, or go to the movies. It was like her friends had forgotten the others were there, and she was beginning to wonder if they cared anymore. Robin was quiet for his own reasons as well. He while was worried about what Cinderblock, and Slade's next moves would be, he was more concerned for his friends. He wondered if he was the only one to notice that everyone was quiet, he wondered if anyone else was feeling just a little bit depressed.  
  
"Beast Boy, tell me a joke." Starfire said.  
  
"No." He replied, annoyed that she even asked. 'I can't believe she really thought I'd tell her a joke and lose this bet just because she asked! She must think I'm pretty stupid...I wouldn't be surprised if they all thought that...'he thought sadly. Starfire was slightly taken back by her friend's rude answer to her question. 'I only wished to lighten the mood'.  
  
Standing up, Starfire said, "What is wrong with everyone? Why is everyone seeming so sad? I suggest we go out for pizza, we could enjoy, and talk like before, and-"  
  
"Starfire, sit down." Raven interrupted, "No one wants to go out for pizza with you at 7:00 in the morning."  
  
"But, I only-" Starfire started.  
  
"She's right Star." Robin said  
  
"But-"  
  
"Starfire. Drop It." Robin responded in a foul tone. Starfire sat down, but it was obvious they'd hurt her feelings. She tried to hold back the tears, but they came anyway. Not wanting anyone to see how upset she was, she excused herself in a cracked voice, and retreated to her room. Emotions were running high in the whole tower, and things were sure to get worse...


	4. Cries in Night

Author's Note: This is my favorite chapter, I hope you enjoy it.

I don't own any of these characters.

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Chapter 4 "Cries in Night"  
  
In the middle of the night Beast Boy woke up to the sound of crying. 'Must be Starfire. Should I get up? It's not like I can do anything about it. I can't cheer her up; I can't make a joke, or make her laugh...what's the point?' He rolled over to go back to sleep, but he couldn't go back to sleep. The crying continued. He was surprised someone else hadn't heard it yet. Starfire's room was pretty far away from his, and Robin's room was right next to hers, 'why hasn't Robin gotten up yet?' If she's loud enough for me to hear, I think someone should go see if she's okay.' After a few moments he thought 'Fine, I'll go, even if she doesn't respect me...' Beast Boy jumped out of the top bunk of his bunk bed. In midair, he transformed into a cat, so he could see his way to Starfire's room in the dark. As his feet hit the soft carpet, they made a delicate 'thump', and he began on his way. He gingerly poked his head out of his room, and looked around. The crying had become softer now, but he was still confused at why no one else had gotten up. To get to Starfire's room, he had to pass Raven and Robin's rooms, and he didn't want to wake them up. 'If I wake up Raven, I'm sure to end up getting in a fight with her, and I'm not in the mood to fight with someone at 3:00 in the morning.' He had to pass Raven's room first, but the closer he got to her room, the more he realized that the crying was coming from her room. 'Maybe Raven got up, and talked to Starfire, and now Starfire is in Raven's room.' Beast Boy considered the possibility for a moment, and then decided that he should still check on Starfire. 'She's still my friend, even if she doesn't think I can control myself...' Slowly Beast Boy (in cat form) pawed open the door. He crept inside, it was pitch black, but in his cat form he could see perfectly. He could see perfectly that Raven was by herself, and the crying was coming from her. Quickly changing back into his true form, "Raven, are you okay? I...heard you crying, and...I...is there anything I can do?" Beast Boy asked awkwardly.  
  
"Beast Boy?" Raven said in the dark, "Where are you?"  
  
"I'm right here," he answered as he sat next to her on the bed, "Are you okay" Raven said nothing as she suddenly started hugging him as if she'd never see him again. She was now sniffing, and crying into his nightshirt, and he was unsure of what to do. Raven had never been this close to him, and it wasn't something he was prepared for. 'What do I do?! Am I supposed to hug her, or talk or what?' he thought frantically. After a moment he decided to go with the first option and just put his arm around her. Unexpectedly, Raven spoke. "I keep having this dream..."  
  
"You...you want to talk about it?" Beast Boy asked, slightly afraid of what her dream might be about.  
  
"I keep dreaming that...that I didn't save you...you died, and it was my fault...I was supposed to catch you. The battle the other day...I" Raven said, but before she could finish, her tears started coming harder, and she couldn't talk.  
  
"I know. Its okay...I'm here. I'll always be here-" Beast Boy said in a voice that was strangely more comforting than he realized.  
  
"You can't always be here! You're not even here now," Raven said as she tried to push him away from her, but he was holding on too tight.  
  
"What do you mean? I'm here now."  
  
"No, you're not. Not the real you. This is the "serious Beast Boy". This is the Beast Boy that's trying to win the bet-"  
  
"No! It's not. This is the real me. You were right. I was being reckless the other day. There are times to joke, and there are times to be serious. I know the difference...most of the time. It's just, the other day; I didn't think that...that he'd be that hard to beat. We've beaten him before. The other day, I was showing off trying to get your attention...I'm sorry. I know I joke too much, but if things are quiet and serious, like they've been lately, I get nervous...it scares me." Beast Boy said as he held her a little closer. Raven was rather surprised at how nice it felt to have someone hold her. Gradually, she began to realize that her emotions didn't seem so hard to control. It was almost as if he was helping her control them, it was like he was holding her emotions in.  
  
"Why does it scare you?"  
  
"It's the times when things are really serious, I realize that I could get hurt, those are the times, I know that one wrong move, and one of my friends could die. I'm afraid of things being serious for the same reason you're afraid of your dream. I don't want someone I care about to get hurt."  
  
"You win." Raven whispered.  
  
Beast Boy let out a hushed laugh, "What do you me, 'you win'?"  
  
"I mean you win the bet, I give in. I shouldn't have made the bet with you in the first place...I knew you'd win anyway, but I just wanted you to prove it to me that you could be serious. I shouldn't have asked you to prove it..."  
  
"You actually thought I'd win?" Beast Boy said looking into her eyes.  
  
"Of course. You can be pretty stubborn sometimes, I knew if you put your mind to it, you could win." Raven replied.  
  
"You're the only one that thought I could do it," Beast Boy said, as he looked away.  
  
"What do you mean? 'I was the only one'?"  
  
"I overheard the others talking and, I heard them say that I wouldn't last 2 days...it really sort of hurt, knowing that they didn't think I could do it..." he told her. After a moment, neither of them said anything. Beast Boy looked at Raven once again. He looked straight into her eyes, and once again saw the timid, vulnerable side of her, a side of her that needed comforting. He wanted so much to comfort her, but he was afraid. He was afraid that if he eased her pain, he would get to close to her. Beast Boy couldn't bear to get too close to her 'How close can you get to a girl who isn't allowed to feel? If I allow myself to feel for her, I'll only be hurting myself.'  
  
"I should go." Beast Boy said, unable to put his thoughts out his head.  
  
"Yeah, I guess you should," she replied. They held each other for an instant and neither one of them moved. Raven whispered, "Maybe you should hold me for a little longer..."  
  
"All right, just a little longer," Beast Boy, said as he held her closer. He listened as her breathing became slow, and regular. The next morning, as the sun flashed across his face, he was surprised to see that Raven wasn't upset to find that she was still in his arms.


	5. Good Morning

I don't own any of these characters.

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Chapter 5 "Good Morning"  
  
"Good morning." Beast Boy said softly to the girl in his embrace, a slight smile appeared on her face. "Did you sleep okay, Raven? No nightmares?"  
  
She shook her head slightly and said "Not with you here."  
  
"I shouldn't be here," he said as he looked away from her face. "It's...not proper..." He let go of her and started toward the door. His arms ached to hold her for just a moment more. She was still sitting on the bed, so just be for he left, he turned suddenly, and brushed his lips against her cheek. Blushing a little, he quickly turned into a cat and bounded out of the room, feeling on top of the world. Beast Boy returned to his room, and quickly got dressed for breakfast. Once he came down stairs, he finally began to notice how dreary the tower had become since he'd stopped laughing, and joking with his friends. Starfire, Cyborg, and Robin were all sitting at the table poking at their cereal. "Good morning everyone! I hope you all slept well." Beast Boy said cheerfully.  
  
"Why are you so happy? Is there a marathon of Gilligan's Island coming on or something?" Cyborg said sarcastically. Beast Boy laughed at Cyborg's sarcasm.  
  
"Nope, but I'm thinking of challenging you to a video game marathon, what do you say?" Beast Boy said  
  
"You laughed! That means you lost the bet! You're never allowed to make another joke again!" Cyborg said a little amazed.  
  
"Nope! Raven and I called off the bet." Beast Boy said sounding a little smug  
  
"Why? Did you have to beg her let you out of it?" Robin asked  
  
"He didn't beg me." Raven said as she walked into the kitchen. "I begged him to let me out of it. I knew he could do it, and I didn't want to have to spend the rest of my life laughing at all his jokes. Isn't that right Beast Boy?" The rest of the titans stood there stunned. To Beast Boy's slight disappointment, it was normal, calm everyday Raven. Beast Boy could hardly believe that she could still act the same after everything that had happened last night. She wasn't the same though, some how, she was different. Maybe she carried herself different, or maybe it was the way her hair swayed, or maybe Beast Boy had never really looked at her, really looked at her before. The rest of the Titans were stunned to see her stick up for Beast Boy. They'd seen the fight Raven and Beast Boy had, and they could hardly believe that they'd made up. After a moment of staring at her in shock, they went about their business; assuming Raven had her own reasons for sticking up for Beast Boy. Only Beast Boy saw the small smile that played about her lips as she turned away to make her breakfast. 


	6. You Win

Author's Note: Thanks for sticking with the story so far. I hope I did justice to DC comics characters, and I hope you enjoyed reading this. As you know this is the last chapter. Please take the time to comment/review the story. I would appreciate any pointers you can give me. Thank you.

I don't own any of these characters

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Chapter 6 "You Win"  
  
Beast Boy headed back to his room after a three hour game-a-thon with the rest of the Titans. It'd been great. They'd played every board game in the tower; they played video games, and even a couple of rounds of cards. The gloominess that had loomed over them for the past week had melted completely away during the hours of games. Everyone seemed to get along again, and even Raven had gotten into a few of the games. She'd won several of the board games, and a couple of the card games. Her strategic mind was made for those sorts of games, so Beast Boy hadn't thought anything about it when Raven skipped out on playing video games. Beast Boy hadn't done so well in the games, for the most part he'd lost almost every game. 'Who could concentrate with Raven sitting just inches from me though?' Beast Boy had even caught her looking at him a few times. He didn't want to get hurt, but her eyes were so hard to resist. When he looked in her eyes, he could see her emotions just under the surface. Today, when he looked at her, he could clearly see "Happiness" waving back from her eyes.  
In the hallway, Starfire stopped Beast Boy, and asked if she could speak with him. "Sure Starfire, what do you want to talk about?"  
  
"Before, when you were trying to win the bet, I didn't think you could do it. I am sorry; I should have had more faith in you."  
  
"That's all right, I wasn't entirely sure I could manage myself." Beast Boy replied, lying a little to make her feel better.  
  
"I am glad you are not trying to be serious any more. Without you, things here were boring. I have missed your laughter, and your jokes."  
  
When Beast Boy got to his room, he noticed his door was open a little. 'That's weird; I thought I closed it...' Then on his nightstand, he noticed a plain white envelope. Inside were two tickets to Three Idiots Go to Egypt. Also in the envelope there was a note, with just two words written on it, clearly written in Raven's style. It said "You Win".


End file.
